Tholaar Kaaz
((Title: Artifact Cat/Cats/Khajiit. Open RP at the moment)) Chapter 1: Olaak Miiraak, Dimension Portal Soul Blake was relaxing at home one wet summer Sunday, wearing nothing but his pajama pants, exposing his chubby body. He didn't have work this day and was about to doze off to sleep when his phone rang. Soul waited for the third ring before answering. "Hello?" "Hey, chub muffin! How are you doin'?" Aden's voice teased out. "I'm doing good; bored though." Soul replied with a smile. "Well, you can play the Xbox if you want. I won't be able to reach you for awhile; I got a mission!" Soul pouted. "Okay... see you when you get back?" "Of course sweetie!" Aden promised. "so long as 'm not whammied or something... I'll make your fave for dinner when I get home!" "Yay!" Soul's mind was filled with visions of a delicious fried chicken. "Talk to ya later!" "Bye!" Aden hung up. Soul quickly turned on the game console and started to play a new game of Skyrim. After a few minutes of making a new character and surviving Helgen, Soul started getting hungry, so he saved his progress and walked into the kitchen. Walking back into the living room with a large slice of cake, the corpulent albino froze at the sight of what looked like a sword's blade slicing its way out of thin air. Slowly, he set the cake down on a nearby table as the sword tip moved downward, stopping and withdrawing just before it touched the floor. The cut suddenly opened horizontally, revealing two silhouettes standing in a bright light. The figures began to approach, as Soul blindly fumbled for his cell phone. Meanwhile in Japan's Nagasaki Prefecture... "So, Mordin, tell me about yourself? We're stuck at this subway station for a bit, might as well pass the time." Aden said, resting his head on his hands behind his back. The two agents had been assigned together, seeing as how Mordin's Element of Magic was pretty powerful, and he needed some guidance from another power-user. Mordin had been a bit reluctant, seeing as how new he was to this whole... magic thing, but he hoped he'd get the hang of it. "Well, um. Not much to tell, really." Mordin chuckled. "I was born in New York and raised there for most of my life. I actually moved to Univille a few years ago. My dad said that Michael, my second father, used to work somewhere there." "The Warehouse." Aden offered. "Right. He said it was time he came back, to try to revive some old memories." Mordin sighed. "What did you know of Michael?" Aden asked. "Anything special?" "My father told me his job was a secret to everyone. Well, everyone but him. He said they discussed everything together. In fact, they argued a bit before coming to an agreement on having me." "Having you?" Aden sat forward, confused. "I wasn't adopted. Basically, my parents pulled a Rachel Berry on me, mixing their DNA and sending it to a surrogate mother. We have routine visits with each other." Mordin explained proudly. "But about Michael. I never expected his job was so..." "Wonderful? Awesome?" "Yeah, those. But also, dangerous. That lady, Mrs. Frederic, told me how Michael really died, and I just... I thought he was a policeman shot in the line of duty or something. At least my dad didn't lie." As Aden rested a hand on Mordin's shoulder, the subway train pulled up and passengers were let out by the dozens. "C'mon," Aden stood up. "We've got an artifact to bag." -- Soul eventually managed to grab the phone and call Aden as the figures exited the portal and revealed themselves. One was a fairly tall catlike man wrapped in brown scale armor, holding the sword Soul had seen. The other was very young looking, with blond hair and similar scald armor reminiscent of a variation of Spider-Man. "C'mon Aden, pick up, pick up!" The albino muttered as the invaders looked around. ...Nagasaki Prefecture... Aden and Mordin sat together in the crowded subway tram, where many people were wearing surgical masks. "Why do they wear the masks again?" Mordin asked. "Because their considerate of other people. They don't want to spread any sickness they've got." Aden replied. "Nothing serious, really." "AAAAHH!" a woman's scream came from the far end of the subway car, followed by many more screams, shouts, and cries. The two got up and pushed their way to the source, and saw a woman cowering on the ground, her arms wrapped around a small boy. She was saying something in Japanese that neither could understand. "Good thing I came prepared," Aden muttered as he pulled an artifact from his bag: "Jean-François Champollion’s Ideographic Dictionary. I don't like to use it too often at once." Aden bent down, opened the book and listened to the woman speak. After she finished, Aden stood back up and looked at Mordin. "She said a woman tried to grab her son while she had her back turned. When she looked back, she slapped her, knocking her mask askew, revealing a wide, gaping mouth that, apparently, looked like it had been torn open." Aden explained. "What does that mean?" Mordin crossed his arms and looked down at the mother and son. "It means," Aden said, closing the dictionary and placing back in his bag, "we're most likely dealing with the Kuchisake-onna, a Japanese spirit of vengeance. We need to find her, before she gets someone else." Aden and Mordin made their way through the set of cars, looking for any signs of the woman, when Aden's phone rang. "Hello?" Aden answered. "Soul? This is kind of a bad time, honey." "I know you're on a mission but-" "Soul, I'm sorry, but if I don't fix this now, I won't be able to come home, and a lotta people are gonna die!" I'll call you right back!" Aden regretfully hung up before turning to Mordin. "From what I read, she can't really be stopped, just confused or distracted." --Univille-- Soul moaned as his boyfriend hung up, before looking over at the pair, who were now standing still, waiting for him to hang up. "Unslaad krosis, sir." The taller one bowed his head. "We did not mean to frighten." Unslaad krosis? Soul thought. Oh my god they're from Skyrim! The fact that the Xbox was still on hit him like a truck. ... "What?" Mordin exclaimed. "How do we keep her from killing someone then?" "Its most likely that someone's just wearing her mask, rather than it actually being her. We get the mask, we stop her reign of terror. Let's ask around." Aden motioned his head back, and Mordin nodded. ... Soul sweated a little, trying to distract. "Umm... hi, my name's Soul, can I help you with anything?" he asked nervously. "I'm Ben, and this is my dad S'hawn." The smaller boy replied, before pointing at the TV. "What's this?" Oh crap. Chapter 2: Soven Skiif, Secret Grin Aden and Mordin alternated between using the dictionary on as many people at a time, to both avoid the downside and collect information faster. When they finished questioning the people on the last car, they met back up and reviewed their findings. "So," Aden began, "my people said that they saw a woman with a facemask running toward the front of the train, pushing past people and occasionally stopping to stare at the smaller children, before continuing. You?" Mordin handed Aden back the dictionary and rubbed his hands. "The people I'' questioned said they saw the same thing, only one of them was a kid. Said her name was Miroa. She said the woman came up to her and asked her a question, bu she can't remember exactly what it was. Only that it had something to do with floating." Aden humphed. "Not seeing a connection. And she didn't try to take the girl?" "No," Mordin shrugged. "That's the weird thing. She had time to ask, but not take. Its bizarre." "Better head up, see if the conductor's seen anything strange." ... "It's... a machine to play games on?" Soul admitted nervously. S'hawn grimaced. "Ben, I'm not sure that's the best of ideas!" he attempted to stop he boy, but it was too late. Ben had managed to get to the in-game map. Vague memories and stories of his dad's adventures suddenly surfaced, and his eyes widened. "Oh Lorkhan..." he muttered, starting to hyperventilate. ...Subway Train... "Anything?" Mordin asked as Aden reemerged from the conductor's car of the subway train. Aden shook his head. "Said the wasn't anything or anyone up there but Em." Aden shook his head. "Em?" Mordin asked. "Preferred pronouns." Aden waved a hand. "Anyway, its impossible that woman got off the train. But, of course, this train has to be full to bursting with passengers. We just have to go car by car until-." The train slowed to a stop, and all the passengers began exiting the train. "Arceus dammit!" Aden exclaimed, stomping his foot. "We ''have to find that woman, fast. Its almost night time. That's when she's most active. C'mon!" "Right behind you." Mordin nodded, and the two exited the train. ...Univille... The two adults looked awkwardly on the child curled in a fetal position. "Um... Ben?" S'hawn said gently, "How about I send you home so you can meditate for a while, okay?" Slowly, Ben nodded as his father gently eased hm through the still-ope portal before closing it tight. "There we go..." "That was..." Soul began. "Strange?" "Yeah. Why aren't you freaking out?" "Hermaeus." S'hawn answered simply. "Ah. Well its nice to meet you S'hawn!" Soul said brightly, shaking the cat-man's hand. "Nice to meet you too!" S'hawn gave a cat grin as he returned he shake. "So... where are we?" "My house, in the town of Univille, but I'm afraid I legally can't tell you a lot about it." the albino replied. "I can keep a secret!" The Khajiit replied teasingly. "Donn't much care. Can't tell ya." Soul replied quickly. ...Nagasaki Prefecture... Aden and Mordin exited the subway station and entered a small shopping district. Small vendors selling food, toys, art, and more lines the edge of the streets. "Huh. I always figured all of Japan was super high-tech and stuff." Mordin said, placing his hands of his hips and looking around. "Not always. This must be one of the smaller parts of the area. We should split up," Aden said. "Ready your Farnsworth and Tesla, we don't know what she's capable of yet. Send a Telsa shot into the air to signal me if you see her." Mordin nodded, and the two went off into two different directions. Aden followed the path of a small tram car, occasionally glancing at the small stalls on the road, some offering small items to sell to him. Mordin took the path that led him to where most of the meat goods were sold. Slabs of beef or pork were hung from hooks in the open air, while smaller chicken pieces were displayed on counters. As the sun began to set and the orange sky took on a deep purple hue, many of the shopkeepers began to close their stalls, leaving their tools out as they packed up their more valuable items. Mordin took out his Tesla as he followed a woman down the road, who seemed to be stumbling for some reason. She coughed and sneezed loudly as time went on. As the two came across an empty butcher's vendor, the woman seemed to get progressively closer to the stall, where several knives were set out. On a particularly powerful sneeze, her surgical mask was pulled down to her chin, revealing her large, gaping mouth. Mordin immediately shot an electrical blast into the air to signal Aden, and then pointed it at the woman. "Stop right there!" he shouted. "Don't move!" The woman turned her head to him in surprise, stopping just as her hand nearly grabbed a large knife. Looking back, she pulled her hand away instantly and began to stumble backwards, and then ran away, too fast for Mordin to catch up on his own. In a flash, Aden appeared next to Mordin, his custom Tesla in his hand as well. "Where'd she go?" "She ran away, too fast. I couldn't get a good shot." Mordin gasped and shook his head. "Sorry." "No need, dude." Aden replied. "Oh, she did something weird," Mordin stood back up, clearing his head of the fogginess from shooting up too fast. "She got near some knives, but it was like she didn't want to." "What do you mean?" Aden asked. "It was like, she was being pulled towards the knives, but against her will." Mordin explained. "Hm," Aden thought aloud, putting his Tesla back in its holster. "It could be that she was affected by the artifact against her will." "If that's the case, we need to stop her before it takes complete control." The two ran off in the direction the woman ran. Chapter 3: Sufol Lok, Sugar High ...Univille... S'hawn had wandered into the kitchen to try and cook somehing using the food in his bag, while Soul sat on the couch, tryng to relax, but was instead much too wound up. "Whatcha making?" He called out, curious aboout the smell wafting from the stove. "Some bread and an Elsweyr fondue." the Khajiit replied. "I hope you'll like it!" "Well, it certainly smells good." The broader male commented. After a moment longer, S'hawn walked out, carrying a tray. On it were two bowls filled with a creamy liquid, as well as a loaf of bread. Soul looked skeptical. "Are you sure this is safe for humans to eat?" he asked, carefully picking up a bowl and examining it. S'hawn shrugged. "I dunno. Never given it to anyone who wasn't Khajiit." he admitted, dunking a slice of bread into the fondue and eating it. Cautiously, Soul did the same. Suddenly, the albino's pupils widened, and he began to pant and twitch. "Umm.... re you okay?" S'hawn asked, worried. "I... I dunno man... wow. You eat this stuff?" Soul chuckled and grinned hugely. "I feel great!" ((symptoms: euphoric state followed by complete exhaustion)) "Oh dear..." As S'hawn watched, the human began to try to do gymnastics, always collapsing on his front or back, before rushing into the garage. The Khajiit followed, staring as Soul grabbed a ladder, took it outside and stood it on the roof. ...Nagasaki Prefecture... Aden paused for a second. "Why do I suddenly want someone dead?" "Something wrong?" Mordin asked. The two had run themselves exhausted after half an hour of searching and running, occasionally catching the wrong person. Mordin was bent over, his hands on his knees, breathing quickly. "N-nothing, just a feeling. We should keep moving." Aden replied, pulling Mordin up. They decided that, to save energy, they'd walk for the rest of the search unless something came up. Aden decided to entertain himself by using his powers to levitate various pebbles they passed in a large circular ring around himself. Mordin stared in awe at the display of telekinesis. "Can I'' do that?" he asked, pointing at the ring. "Well, your Element provides you with alicorn characteristics." Aden began. "When you wear it, you'll gain a horn, which allows you to perform pretty strong magic. Telekinesis, teleportation over short distances, even transformation and time travel." Mordin was stunned. "Really?!" Mordin beamed. "But ''only once, and only into the past for a short period. And, to my knowledge, the future can't be changed. At best, its to view a past event." Aden warned. "Oh, and you get wings." Aden kept walking forward, but Mordin stopped in shock, but quickly ran to catch up. "Hey, dude, wait up! I want to know more!" ...Univille... S'hawn leaned on the couch arm as Soul groaned in pain. "What did we learn?" "Not to jump off a roof?" the man replied weakly. Soul had tried hanging off the roof, and basically the only reason he wsn't in more damage was because S'hawn had practice in Restoration's Healing branch. A lot of it. "Very good..." The Khajiit nodded. Soul yawned hugely. "Man, I feel like I ran a marathon... whew..." with that, he passed out, snoring lightly. S'hawn smied and draped a nearby blanket over the albino, before wandering off to find a book to read. ...Nagasaki Prefecture... "And that's how you properly turn a rat into a banana and back. I'll train you when we get back to the Warehouse and you can wear your Element." Aden explained. It was pitch dark now, and the only sources of light being dim lanterns and small, contained stars Aden was able to produce. "Don't worry," he assured, "they won't burn or blind you." It was another hour or so before the two agents came across someone; a child, huddled on the ground and crying. Aden pulled out the translating dictionary and asked the child what was wrong, while Mordin stood watch. "My mommy's hurt." Aden said aloud, translating for the boy. "What happened to your mother?" "Aden?" Mordin asked, agitated. Aden couldn't be bothered to turn around. "She left a long time ago and was smiling and-and," the child sobbed. "She was bleeding." "Aden!" Mordin shouted. "Watashi wa kanari nodesu ka?" '' 'Am I pretty?' '' Aden spun around, hiding the child behind him, and saw the woman, her mask lowered and her split mouth agape. Mordin was frozen with fear. "Wh-what," "Don't say a word!" Aden warned hastily. "She wants an answer." The woman took a large step forward, closing the gap between them. "Watashi wa kanari nodesu ka?" Aden looked down and saw the woman had something long and metal in her hand; a long, sharp butcher's knife. "Do not answer her" Aden warned again. "Doesn't she have a time limit or something, though?" Mordin hissed through clenched teeth. Each speaker moved the woman's attention back and forth, until the child stepped out from behind Aden. "Kid, NO!: Aden yelled as the child ran up to hug his mother's leg. The woman raised her knife at first, but as soon as the young boy wrapped his arms around her, she dropped the knife and looked down. Mordin rushed forward and yanked the mask off of the woman's face, and put it into a silver bag. The agents watched as the woman's mouth sealed, going back to normal. She gasped and fell forward, and embraced her child. "Ma'am," Aden asked, readying the dictionary. "Do you mind telling us what you were doing with that mask?" The woman was sobbing and laughing at the same time as her child wrapped his small arms around her shoulders. Picking him up, she stood up and looked at the agents. "I had a bad cold." ...Univille... Aden drove back to Soul's home from the Warehouse. The God tier was confused when he saw the ladder outside. "Why in Oblivion..." He muttered, parking in the driveway and summoning his "Coat Tier" outfit, which flapped behind him in response. He opened the front door to see a familiar Khajiit sitting in a chair reading while Soul was passed out on the couch. On the coffee table were two bowls of food. "S'hawn," he began. "Why and how are you here?" Chapter 4: Stiildus Gelaarend, Calming Explanations "Umm... Dimensional Cutter?" S'hawn replied meekly. "Also, I was bored. Tried to show my kid around but... I sent him home." Aden recalled the object. It was a steel greatsword. Officially enchanted with Shock and Paralyze, the blade could also cut open dimensions for S'hawn to pass through. "Alright... and what is this?" he pointed at the bowls. "It better not be -" "Elsweyr fondue." "WHAT?" Aden snapped, his long coat flickering briefly to its standard God Tier outfit and back. "Moon Sugar is BAD for humans you IDIOT! S'HAWN AVANDI OF RIVERHOLD I'M GONNA END YOU!" S'hawn yelped and tried to run off... only to slam face-first into a wall of solid spacial power. Aden slowly approached, his coat quickly dissolving away into its normal hooded form. "I'm sorry! I didn't know!" "How could you not know?!" the brunet snapped. "Riften's Thane Quest was based around the stuff!" "That was Skyrim skooma, it's diluted!" "Skooma is refined moon sugar! You found several bowls of it in that quest!" Aden continued, pulling out a war-axe and slashing at the Khajiit. "I'm sory! I thought maybe... it wouldn't work on humans in another dimension!" ...Warehouse... A ping alarm began going off in the offices. "Uh, what does that alarm mean?" Carl asked, standing in the middle of Artie's office and gesturing to the flashing lights. "That means there's an especially powerful artifact going off somewhere in the Warehouse." Artie said, turning around in his swivel chair. "Well what do we do?" Carl looked to Artie. "We don't do anything," Artie replied. "No grudge against you, but agents need to learn to handle things on their own sometimes. You need some more experience. I suggest a bird form or levitating yourself to get there quickly." Carl looked at Artie incredulously, but sighed and morphed into his bird form. ' ''Which direction do I go? '' he thoughtspoke. "I'm not going to get used to either of those things, am I?" Artie mumbled. "It seems its near the Convention Aisle. Actually," Artie leaned closer to the screen. "its right next to Aden's office. You better get there quick, it might be a Homestuck artifact." ' On it. ' Carl said, and flew off out of the office. After flying for a while, Carl finally got to the Convention Aisle. He landed and demorphed, stretching when the transformation was complete. He was getting better at his concentration, and was also getting used to morphing, too. He walked around for a bit, noticing that things were mostly silent, save for the occasional creaks and groans of metal, and ambient noises in the distance. This place, while indeed interesting, did hold some bad memories for Carl, relating to Garrett. He had shown him how to get there, but after his double showed up, everything went to hell. But that didn't matter. What did was that artifact disturbance. He looked around, searching for some signal that something had gone awry. Sparks, bangs. Heck, even an office door would suffice. He finally came across what seemed to be a rather large box, a little taller than him, and a little wider than it was tall. He felt harsh energy emanating from the closed box, and saw that artifacts around the box where shaking or going off for no other reason. The energy felt... angry. Really angry. Carl went to the side of the box and pulled on a slightly opened corner, straining for a few moments before finally pulling down the wooden side. Inside the box, he found 3 grandfather clocks, their pendulums perpetually swinging. A single one, however, golden in color, seemed to be the one giving off the waves of energy. Carl put his hand gingerly to the clock's side, immediately retracting it in sudden pain. It felt like heat, but, not exactly. Not physical heat. Not knowing what else to do, Carl pulled out the new Farnsworth he received, and fidgeted with the dials. "How do you work this damn thing?" he asked aloud. Finally, he managed to call Artie. "Mr. Nielson, there's this gold grandfather clock. In a box. Its making all the things around it go nuts!" Artie's eyes widened in surprise. "That's Aden's God Tier clock! If that thing's acting up, Aden's in trouble!" "Well, what do we do?" Carl asked, worried. "''We? Sorry, but I'm not fit enough to go after whatever webcomic-based trouble that guy's got himself into now. You'll have to do it." "Do I, like, stop the clock or something?" Carl asked nervously. "What? No! NONONO!" Artie practically shouted into the Farnsworth. "That would kill him! Or at least, stop his heart if you Gooed it. It would be best if you found him in person. Fly back to the office. I'll give you some gear and directions to his house." Artie shut his Farnsworth, as did Carl, who nodded. Carl turned around, taking a quick, worried glance at it, before morphing and flying as quickly as he could back to the office. ... "You druggd my boyfriend you imbecile!" "I said I was sorry!" "Sorry doesn't fix what you did!" Aden snapped back, unware of Soul groaniing into wakefulness. ... Carl pulled up to the house that Artie gave him directions to, and turned off his GPS. Getting out of the car, he brought a bucket of Neutralizer, gloves, and a Tesla with him as he approached the front door. From inside, loud screams of rage could be heard, first in English, and then switching occasionally into anther language. "Hi makil wadren klov! Hi vust lost krii mok!" "But he's fine!" "Yeah, he is now!" Carl ran inside, pushing open the door and saw Aden yelling at a giant man-cat hybrid. Quickly alternating his gaze between the two, Carl didn't know what to do but throw the bucket of purple goo at them both. The bucket flipped in the air once, before spilling its contents on both the Khajiit and Aden, drenching them. Both purple-tinted men froze, blinked twice and turned to look at Carl. "Oh hello Carl." Aden said, mood-swinging to calm. Carl stared, shocked. He didn't know what on earth was going on. "What's going on! Why were you guys fighting? Why is there a magic clock? Why is there a cat man!?" "In reverse order..." Aden took a deep breath and explained. "Carl,, meet S'hawn Avandi, my Skyrim character. That clock is my main Achilles heel. If it stops, die. We were fighting because he basically gave Soul a sugar-based narcotic. And tat's what's going on. Carl nodded sarcastically. "Good to know. I'm not gonna ask how a video game character popped up here, or why a clock would kill you, but at least you're fine now." "It's... difficult to explain." Aden admitted. "The short version is... S'hawn exists in a different universe." "I got bored and used a sword I found," Here S'hawn picked up the large steel great-sword "this one. It lets me travel between universes. So I decided to come here outta curiosity." Carl sighed. "Okay, sure, I'll try to process that later. But, Aden, your clock was causin' a whole lot of trouble back in the Warehouse. It-." his Farnsworth rang. Answering it, Artie's face appeared. "What happened? Aden's clock calmed down all of a sudden. Is he alright?" "Yeah," Carl answered. "He's fine. Just a little... mishap, is all. I'll come back later." Carl closed the Farnsworth back up. "Well, Aden, I advise you keep your temper. Something like that, or worse, and something really bad could happen." "Alright..." Aden nodded. "How about we show S'hawn to the warehouse? He doesn't exist in this universe, so I'm sure it'll be fine." "Uh, sure, sure." Carl stammered. "I guess it's fine. Just, uh... he's a cat, right? No offense, really, but I kinda don't want to clan up shed fur." "I don't shed." S'hawn replied simply, before following Carl and outside while Aden stayed behind. Unbeknown to any of them, a glittering gold and emerald ring fell out of S'hawn's pocket onto the street. A shadowy figure picked it up and ran off. "Before you get in my car, I don't want purple goo in it." Carl said. "Do something about that, then the Warehouse." Aden snapped his fingers, causing the Neutralizer to condense into a ball as he stood in the doorway. "Good." Carl nodded. "Now we can go." Carl got in his car, followed by S'hawn, and they drove off to the Warehouse. Carl, being a bit nervous about talking to an inter-dimensional man-cat, stayed quiet on the ride for the most part. S'hawn did the same, fiddling with a jeweled locket around his neck. When they reached the Warehouse, Carl turned the car off and turned around to face S'hawn. "Look, Shawn-." "S'hawn." he corrected, holding up a hand. "Sorry. S'hawn." Carl sighed, exasperated. "I'm not exactly sure how anybody will react to a cat-man from a video game popping into the Warehouse. I'll tell them you know Aden, and maybe they won't lock you up or something. Just... don't do anything that might upset them, alright?" The Khajiit nodded. "Understood." He put his helmet in his pocket. Carl shook his head and took the Khajiit through the Umbilicus, noting the explosives. After having his eye scanned, they entered Artie's office. Chapter 5: Daazun Nunaakun, Amazing Revelation The Khajiit looked around the office, fascinated. His inner Enchanter quickly determined that everything in it was far more than it appeared. "Good," Carl sighed, "nobody's here right now." He turned around to face S'hawn. "This is Warehouse 13. Where Aden and I work. Short version, this place hold thousands, maybe millions of magical objects. Dangerous ones. And if anyone else saw you, they might try to-" "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry." came a voice from outside Artie's office. It had a noticeable New Zealand accent. "I'll remnd Carl to close boxes next time he-oh my god." Drake Hosfelt, who had been speaking to Artie on his Farnsworth, entered the office and stood, shocked, staring at the Khajiit. "Drake? What's wrong?" Artie's voice came from the vaudio device. Drake looked down. "Nothing, just, ah, the armor's acting up. I'm still not used to it. Gotta go, bye!" Drake said, before clamping the Farnsworth shut and walking over to Carl. "What in the world is that?!" Drake exclaimed, pointing at S'hawn. "He, not it. He's Aden's friend." Carl corrected. S'hawn bowed his head. "S'hawn Avandi, at your service. Drake nodded silently before taking Carl by the shoulder and walking him a few feet away. "Carl," he whispered, "who said you could bring a wahmmied guy to the Warehouse?!" "He isn't whammied," Drake replied, also whispering, "he's Aden's friend, from... another dimension." He shook his head. "Look, I don't pretend to understand him or his stuff, but Aden wanted me to bring him here. He can handle it." Drake looked over his shoulder to see S'hawn examining some small tools from his satchel. "If you say so. Just... be careful, okay?" They nodded and turned back to S'hawn. "Well," Drake began, "may I ask how long you intend on being here?" "A week, minimum." S'hawn replied. The method I used to get here won't fully recharge until then." Carl sighed. "Well, I don't know whether its okay for you to stay at the B&B, considering its technically open to the public." He placed a hand on his chin. "But, you could stay in my room. I stay with Drake most nights, anyway." Drake lightly blushed. "Y-yeah, his room. If you need anything, we can bring it for you while you wait for... however you got here to fully recharge." S'hawn nodded. "Thank you." "Drake!?" a voice called from outside of the office. Artie's voice. "Oh crap." Carl muttered, shoving S'hawn to get him to move, but, unfortunately, wasn't fast enough, as Artie entered the office. "I though- oh. My God." Artie stopped dead in his tracks. "Who let him in? What's going on? How did a Khajiit get here?" "You know of me?" S'hawn asked, walking over to Artie and shaking his hand. "I am S'hawn." "Artie, I'm sorry," Drake put his hands up, "I'm glad you aren't totally having a heart attack right now, but how do you know what he is?" "Hm? Oh, my son, in addition to taking me to ComicCon also has a knack for videogames, Skyrim being one of them." Artie explained. "Aden actually helped me understand the lore better. But how did he - sorry, you get here? I don't recall getting a ping about a dimensional rift." S'hawn smiled. "Long story. You seem like one to know many things. Would you mind if we talked over a drink of some kind? I'm not too familiar with the confectionaries or beverages of this world." Artie nodded. "Of course." He walked over to his computer and picked up a cup of cold tea and took a sip. "You might actually like our tea. Its vanilla and chamomile, quite delicious." Drake and Carl turned away as S'hawn and Artie began talking to each other. "Did you know he knew Skyrim?" Carl asked, holding a hand up to shield his voice. "I didn't even think he knew how to hold a controller." Drake whispered a reply. Carl looked back at the two as they talked, expressing with their hands and examining the various trinkets and tools the Khajiit owned. "Well, if Artie's okay with this, and Aden's calmed down, I guess things are fine for now." he shrugged. S'hawn showed off his locket, revealing two people carved into it with exquisite detail. One was humanoid being S'hawn's son by adoption, while the other had talons on its hands and feet, along with an impressive pair of wings. The second was a young Daedric being S'hawn was raising. In return, Artie showed the Khajiit a picture of his own son. Chapter 6: Gahrot Prenlon, Stolen Ring S'hawn, upon leaving the Warehouse, showed Carl, Drake, and Artie that he possessed an amulet that made him appear human. After several more questions about it from Artie, they drove to the B&B, where he was left to stay for several days while his sword recharged. S'hawn wore his human form often during this time, and the various agents grew familiar with seeing S'hawn both as the cat-man he was and as a tanned, dark-haired human with slightly pointed ears Soon, Artie came to the B&B with a ping about an artifact. He nodded at S'hawn in greeting before beginning to brief the other agents. "There is trouble in town!" Artie yelled, prompting S'hawn, Drake, and Carl to rush down the stairs, and Aden to appear in the living room in a flash. "What's up Artie?" Carl asked. "Someone is running around Univille with armor and a war-axe, shooting lightning bolts, screaming like a maniac." Artie explained. "I don't have a clue what it could be. Well, not something out of the Warehouse, anyway." "Shooting lightning with a war axe? That sounds like something I would... do..." The Khajiit's eyes widened in realization. "Oh sweet Divines..." S'hawn ran upstairs, coming back with his knapsack which he promptly dug into. "My ring is missing. The Ring of the Dragon Cat!" Aden's eyes widened as well. "You mean that one that-?" "Yeah that one! I've had it since Helgen, never enchanted it, and yet it still boosted three of my skills!" "Oh sweet Arceus..." Aden's eyes widened. "Your ring's an artifact! Did it ever affect you in a bad way?" "Umm... no, not that I recall..." the Khajiit thought back. "That little voice in my head, the dragon bit, that always felt a little louder, but aside from that, nothing bad..." "Dragon bit?" Drake asked, curious. "A Dragonborn has a dragon's desire for power and dominance." Artie explained. "If all the ring did to S'hawn was boost that instinct slightly," Aden continued. "I can't even begin to explain what it might do to a human with no experience with it! We gotta get that ring back now!" --- S'hawn and Aden stood in the former's room, with the latter helping the Khajiit prepare. "You sure you can beat yourself, man?" Aden asked, holding up the scale cuirass. S'hawn tugged at the sleeves and legs of his dragon leather and mail shirt before slipping into the central piece. "Yeah, I can." he nodded, as the God Tier buckled the armor together at the sides with three rings each. "Who knows my weaknesses better than me?" S'hawn added proudly as as he adjusted the spiked upper-arm protectors. "I do." Aden replied without a second thought, passing over the iron-shod boots. The footwear slid easily onto S'hawn's bare feet and lower legs, tightened with buckles around the back. "True." The Khajiit acquiesced, pulling on his scale-backed gauntlets and tightening them to size, flicking out his claws briefly from the fingertips. "But still, I beat the most powerful people who attacked me! Alduin, Miraak, Harkon..." "The Reaper?" Aden finished with a smirk, lightly placing a four-horned helmet on top of the cat's head. "And how about Karstaag?" "Not those two..." he admitted. "But they're on my to-do list!" S'hawn added hastily, examining a bone bow and war-axe, before shrugging and slipping both into place on his back and side respectively, along with a quiver of arrows. Over them went a spiked scale shield engraved with a six runes the seemed to glow dully in the shadows at each of the shield's spikes. "I'm ready to take on... well, myself, I suppose!" Aden nodded, taking a deep breath. His eyes flew open as his street-tier clothing began to change. The goggles around his neck morphed into a eye mask that tied behind his head. Dark jeans changed into soft dark grey leggings as his red shoes elongated into boots. His jacket changed into a full tunic bearing the white six-armed galaxy symbol of space, and his fingerless bike gloves lengthened to almost his elbows. "As am I." Aden replied, his voice giving a mild echo of power. --- Meanwhile, the others were also preparing themselves. "I know next to nothing about fighting," Drake said, glancing from across the bedroom to Carl. "But I'm pretty fast on my feet." Drake placed his Element of Loyalty around his neck, enveloping his body in a soft red glow, before he produced blue ears, wings, and his hair grew longer. Glancing at himself in a mirror, he smirked. "Not sure how to feel about this, but I'm sure I'll never get used to it." Carl nodded, putting on his own Element of Generosity, giving him a purple glow, white ears, and a white horn painting through his longer hair, which he brushed his hand through. "Same here. But at least it's useful in tight spots like this." Carl and Drake walked over to each other in the middle of the room and gave eachother a quick kiss before heading downstairs to meet the others. Soon, Aden and S'hawn came down, drawing attention. The Khajiit looked every bit the dragon slayer he was, while Aden had a barely visible aura of power surrounding him. "Alright," Drake said, flapping his wings. "This guy is gonna be dangerous. He won't be a match for you two," he looked to Aden and S'hawn. "But we're gonna try to steer him away from the town, while you try to stop his rampage." Carl nodded. Looking at the others, he raised his eyebrows. "You two look impressive. I'm a bit sorry for the poor guy you're gonna smash into submission." The God and demigod nodded. "That's the plan!" S'hawn smirked. "If we can get him out of sight of the town, we can really cut loose!" Aden grinned happily. Drake pounded his fists together. "Alright, let's go show this guy not to steal stuff that doesn't belong to him!" "Yeah! Especially not from me!" the Khajiit added, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Chapter 7: Lohiim Grah, Town Battle Bolts of lightning struck the buildings of Univille, each one discharging from the ethereally-armored figure standing in the town center. The man's clothes, still visible under the shimmering protection, looked ragged. The group stood a couple of yards away, watching the attacker. "Right," Drake began, hovering a few feet off the ground. "Carl and I are gonna use our powers to draw him out of town. You guys go in for the kill." "Figuratively speaking." Carl added. Drake flew and Carl levitated himself with his magic, covering himself in a light blue aura. When they reached the attacker, Drake cracked his knuckles. "Hey, Static Shock!" Drake called, prompting the attacker to turn around. "We'd appreciate it if you not take your anger out on our architecture." The thief brandished his war axe. "Pahlok joorre! Hin kah fen kos bonaar!" he snarled. Aden and S'hawn, who understood his statement as 'Arrogant mortals! Your pride will be humbled.', exchanged worried looks. "That's what-." "Alduin said, yes." S'hawn finished Aden's statement. "If he's like Alduin, he'll be extremely powerful. Those two better be careful." Drake zoomed forward at the thief, a rainbow flght trail behind him. The thief pointed his axe at the winged agent and sent a bolt of electricity directly at him. He dodged, barely getting his wings out of the way. Carl grabbed the thief's war axe with his magic, covering it in a light blue aura, trying to take it from him. He was successful, able to get it out of his hand and take it with him as Drake picked him up and flew him away from the town. The thief yelled and ran, faster than what a normal person should have been able to do, and followed them. Aden and S'hawn readied their weapons and followed. As the Dragonborn ran, he drew his bow and fired repeatedly. S'hawn recalled a nightmare of Alduin's return. Shuddering at the thought, he focused his fear into a Thu'um: "Fo Krah Diin!" The blast of frost spread in a cone, barely missing his target. "Gah! Gevild tul, Hold still!" Shouldering the bow, he snatched up the missed arrows as he passed. The Khajiit panted, trying to regain his breath. "Come on, try to keep up!" Drake yelled to the thief. "You're slower than a tortoise compared to me!" "Don't egg him on, Drake." Carl muttered, trying to levitate and throw various rocks at the attacker, who was gaining on them. When they finally got well away from the town, Drake dropped Carl just as the man lunged upwards, grabbing onto his axe and blasting Drake with his lightning, sending him hurtling to the ground. Carl caught him with his magic, but he was no longer in fighting condition. Settling him onto the ground, Carl turned around and glared at the man. "Zu'u fen du hi, slen, qeth, ahrk sil! Zu'u fen kron pah Zu'u koraav!" The man roared, the energy around him seemingly growing brighter. "Could use some help guys!" Carl shouted. "MUL QAH DIIV!" S'hawn roared. Instantly, ghostly orange lines of power along his armor and outline s his Dragon Aspect surfaced. "YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE MY POWER, MORTAL? Hi! Los! Nid! YOL TOOR SHUL!" A stream of fire blasted its way toward the thief. The man was enveloped in the flames, causing him to fall to the ground and writhe in pain, the axe falling a few inches away. "VUTH! VUTH! Lig! Nii ag! ag!" the man screamed. "S'hawn, enough!" Aden yelled. Getting no response from the cat, he tackled the thief, upon which the flames ceased. The God tier ripped the ring away, causing the man to collapse on the ground, unconscious. "S'hawn!" Carl roared, walking angrilt over to the Khajiit, inches from his face. "What. The HELL? You were gonna kill him! We. Don't. KILL!" S'hawn blinked as the Dragon Aspect around him vanished, and he stared at Carl. "Okay, one? Get the Oblivion out of my face, your breath reeks. Two, can you repeat that without yelling? Three, as you can clearly see, he's not dead. If I wanted him dead, he would most certainly be dead. I used to run a guild of assassins!" "You nearly roasted the bastard!" Drake said, getting up from the ground. "Look at him, any longer and he would have been Thanksgiving dinner. And even if you didn't kill him, imagine how much pain he was and will be in." "It's a first degree burn, he'll be fine. He's lucky I didn't cut off his hand or fine him for stealing." "Guys, chill!" Aden shouted, halting the argument. "S'hawn's right. He could have done a hell of a lot worse. But you need to heal him, he was only affected by the ring." S'hawn nodded and pressed his hands together. "Restoration, Healing Hands..." Sunlight gathered between his spreading palms, and streamed toward the unconscious figure. Quickly and steadily, the burn marks were wiped away. Carl sighed in relief. "Thank God. Aden, what do you want to do with that ring? Gie it back to S'hawn?" Drake slightly shook his head. "He said it made his inner Dragon instincts louder, and from what we just saw, that might not be a good thing. But it belongs to him, technically." The Khajiit held up his hand. "Keep it. If it does that to normal people, I can't have it lying about in my house. Not with thieves and bandits everywhere..." "If you say so." Aden nodded and, taking out a silver bag, put the ring inside, generating sparks. "Let's just make sure that this doesn't fall in the wrong hands with the Helm." "Let me guess: It let's people..." "Use Shouts, yes." Aden finished. "Alkosh almighty..." ..... After Carl and Drake returned to the Warehouse with the ring put securely in the Video Game Aisle, Aden took S'hawn back to his home. Soul had awoken, and was feeling much less tired. "So, I take it this will be the last time you come to our world, at least for a while?" Soul asked. "I do not know," S'hawn replied. "But if you want to see me again for any reason, the portal coalesces into a small dagger with the same power as my sword. However, it will only allow you to travel between this world and mine." Aden and Soul nodded. "We'll talk if we have any questions about Skyrim artifacts." Aden said. "Or if you have any more recipes you'd like to share." Soul rubbed his stomach hopefully. "May your roads lead you to warm sands." S'hawn answered, waving a hand, as he re-entered the portal, which closed behind him. When the portal closed there was the sound of metal hitting the floor. Aden bent down and picked up the small, ornate dagger left behind. Turning to Soul, he handed it to him. "Wow, it looks really cool." Soul admired the weapon. "I'll go put it on display." "Sounds like a good idea." Aden agreed with a smile.